Moments of Weakness
by ThreeCatsinaBarrel
Summary: The evolution of a great friendship that should never have happened.
1. Windows to the Soul

A little something I wanted to write about the more powerful, emotional moments in How To Train Your Dragon. Because I haven't read any fanfics that picture these moments between Hiccup and Toothless just right. So here is my interpretation of events.

Moments of Weakness

The First Time: Windows to the Soul

He had heard the stories of how a dragon's eyes could hypnotise a weak-willed mind, that looking into the depths of a dragon's soul was like journeying in Nieflheim. Warriors all had tales to tell of those red and amber eyes shining with malice and raw evil.

So why, when he looked in this eye, an eye of a dragon considered the most evil, the most malicious, did he feel that he was looking in the calm waters of a lake, his reflection staring back at him. All he could see was fear, barely disguised behind a façade of dignity that stopped the Night Fury from panicking. Or maybe it was just frozen in terror. That's what Hiccup knew he would do.

_I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die_, that's all that yellow and slitted orb was saying. The Night Fury was sure of it, he was going to die. Hiccup could see it all in that one hopeless stare. It just wanted a look at what was killing it before it faded from existence.

The Viking boy tore his eyes away, but that hopelessness was burned into his eyelids even as he looked at the strong, powerful chest that housed the Fury's beating heart. Probably pounding with the knowledge of death. Hiccup could feel his own heart hammering against his ribcage.

He talked; threats that just seemed empty compared to what he saw, what he felt from those burning eyes and desperate whines and groans. One more fleeting look, and the dragon fell silent, head hitting the ground and eyelid falling over that frozen fear. _I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die_.

For one frightening moment, Hiccup really was going to do it. He really was going to join the ranks of the Vikings and bring his father the blood of a Night Fury; he really would be a hero and he really would be the first Viking to kill a Night Fury.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't, those eyes would haunt him. He would be killing himself and this magnificent creature... because it was magnificent... would just be some trophy.

Not even his father's praise was worth that.

He had done this.

For some reason he felt filthy.

He looked at the jet black dragon, tangled in _his_ bola, its wings stiff and legs held uncomfortably against its underside. Its great chest was taking in huge lungs of air as if tasting sweet breath for one last time. Its eyes still closed. _I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm goin..._

Snap!

Everything changed.

Suddenly, he was the one tangled in the bola, only this bola was a great heavy paw with black claws and despite his fear, Hiccup marvelled at the easy strength the beast above him. From the claw he looked up and there they were, baring down upon him; two great, amber orbs, like two angry suns melting the cold fear that had been there just moments before. _I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you_.

Had those been Hiccup's eyes those same moments ago? They were all he could focus on, except for the great expanse of those black scales like a stormy sea; he could see the reasoning, the terrible wrath, the confusion. _Why? Why? Why?_ But Hiccup could not give an answer. He was frozen, he was at a Fury's mercy and he could not do anything. He was certain, he was going to die. Hiccup was shaking and he could feel the dragon's claw shaking as well. Just one blast of fire and that would be his end. It was just a dragon after all, it couldn't understand the mercy of a Viking. He watched the dragon breath a large gulp of air and knew what would happen when its lungs were at capacity. Hiccup closed his eyes shut, flattening himself to the ground and the rock he was pinned to. _I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to... I'm... I'm going to...._

RROOOOAAARRR!

Everything had changed.

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Please leave your views on my work in the reviews. Constructive criticisms welcome.


	2. First Contact

Moments of Weakness

The Second Time: First Contact

It had started off with the fish and a lop-sided grin. It was a strange sight, seeing a dragon grin. At first the young Viking thought it might just be another snarl and when he realised what it was he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was communication, intelligence, the black Night Fury, with his wide, inquisitive amber eyes was reaching out. Trying to understand. _What is this?_

It was hard to imagine this was the same creature that had almost killed him... because Hiccup was certain it had wanted to kill him... and the boy had to remind himself about that first meeting when looking into these questioning eyes. _What is this?_

The dragon must have been hungry, for some reason it couldn't fly correctly so it couldn't hunt, it couldn't even get itself out of the steep, geological bowl it had become trapped in. But none of that mattered now, what did matter was that the dragon was reaching out to him and Hiccup knew he had to help it. He had come to despise the training sessions with Gobber and the others, they took great thrills in doing whatever they could to that poor Nadder and Gronkle, depending on what one Gobber threw at them.

Hiccup just stayed out of the way.

Unless the action found its way over to him, and he seemed to be a magnet for the action in the training ring.

The most recent incident was with the Nadder. The dazed and hounded reptile, with the skin between its scales bleeding and its bashed body bruised and missing scales was an even more pitiful sight then he was; laying on the ground in a ball being chastised in front of everyone by Astrid and her search for perfection.

It was that moment where his crush ended. She was beautiful, there was no denying that and Hiccup knew he would find it hard to stop admiring her; but she could not see what he saw in the dragons now that he had seen another side to them. Everything he had thought he'd known, everything he'd had been taught, everything was just some sort of huge misunderstanding.

It had to be.

'Toothless' would have killed him the first chance he got if it wasn't.

Hiccup let the fish fall to the side of his lap as he stood up, if the dragon was reaching out, he had to as well. But as his hand drifted nearer a cold look came to the Night Fury's eyes and his teeth appeared in his mouth. A snarl lifted from the creature's chest_ Stay away! Stay away!_ The young Viking withdrew his hand as the great wings carried the dragon to the other side of the pond and... he fell roughly onto his side.

Something was really off with its flying, but Hiccup couldn't see anything wrong with the dragon.

He wasn't sure if he should approach the dragon now, but he felt he had to make-up for his inexperience, he'd done something wrong in the exchange, and he wanted to say sorry somehow.

But how do you say sorry to a dragon?

As Hiccup sat a little from the dragon's side he saw a nesting bird had the reptiles attention, as the little bird flew away, Hiccup could see the sad longing in Toothless' wide eyes. It was there for just a moment until Toothless saw him. _Stay away._ The dragon gave a tired look and shifted around so his single tail fin blocked him the dragon's view. The young Viking couldn't resist.

The fin was amazing, but before he could give the scales the softest touch, show Toothless he meant no harm, tell him he was sorry, the Night Fury lifted his tail and Hiccup quickly left.

The dragon suspended itself from a tree but Hiccup still wouldn't leave, he couldn't leave, he didn't want to leave the Night Fury alone. He didn't want to be alone.

It was as afternoon turned to evening that he heard the dragon behind him, watching as he drew into the dirt. The picture was of Toothless, of all things, he couldn't think of anything else. Hiccup could feel him watching, but he couldn't see what the Fury was thinking as he began to draw its front legs. _What is this?_

He heard the large dragon leave, its paws padding heavily on the dirt and thought maybe it had gone back to its tree, but when he heard cracking and the violent rustling of leaves Hiccup couldn't help it and looked over his shoulder.

What he saw perplexed him.

Toothless dragging a small tree around in his mouth, its leaves billowing as the reptile turned and swayed and pranced and shoved the young tree around in the dirt. The black dragon stopped for just a moment, cast a look to Hiccup and drove the snapped point of the tree into the ground before beginning to drag it again. Was he drawing? Toothless stopped and looked at the scrawny Viking again. Was he drawing him? The black dragon threw the tree to the side and looked at his work.

Hiccup jumped when he accidentally stepped on the gouges in the earth and the dragon growled. Hiccup pried his foot away and was rewarded with a trilling purr from the dragon, doing this several times the young Viking discovered that the dragon was able to feel pride in his work and once again, he found himself in awe at just how human a dragon could be. He smiled, before carefully stepping over the drawing. Almost dancing as he tried to see what it was the dragon had made, he couldn't see, but Toothless seemed very proud of it.

Only when he felt hot breath and a big presence behind him did Hiccup stop. And slowly, he turned to see he was almost, just an arm's reach, away from the black Night Fury.

Almost near but still distant. Hiccup lifted his hand, just one touch. But Toothless growled and showed his teeth again, but this time at least, he didn't fly off. Slowly Hiccup was starting to understand. _I don't trust you. I don't trust you._

Sorry was just a word, words didn't matter to dragons, only the actions. It was the actions they used to communicate, the wide eyes, the lop-sided grin, the perked ears and the drawings in the dirt. The subtle motions that belayed a meaning you had to understand; not something you hear, but something you feel, something you know. Dragons had known Vikings hands to give only pain, why should he let Hiccup touch him. _I don't trust you. I don't trust you._

The dragon was waiting for something, some action that hadn't crossed Hiccup's mind, his eyes boring into him, waiting.

That was the answer! Wasn't it?

The eyes.

The young Viking averted his eyes, shutting them tightly just to be sure when they reached the ground. And he extended his hand just enough to feel the dragons breath brush against the palm. He couldn't see. Toothless could decide to just sit there, or walk away, or he could decide to bite, strong jaws crushing through flesh and bone and Hiccup could feel himself begin to shiver. But he kept his eyes away. _I don't trust you. I don't trust you. I don't trust you._

Trust couldn't be shown or promised. Trust had to be earned, had to be given proof. You had to leave yourself bare to attack and take the risk of having everything ripped away from you, your believe, your blood, your own trust, to prove it. But Hiccup still shivered. His arm was going numb.

The dragon's snout fell into his open palm.

No pain.

Just warmth.

_I trust you_

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Well? Leave your reviews and comments.


	3. Losing Everything

Moments of Weakness

The Third Time: Losing Everything

When he had heard his human's scream, a terror unlike anything the dragon had known before filled his heart and sent icy blood along the membranes of his wings. Hiccup was in danger, and he was stuck in this lake. From a great distance, Toothless heard his human screaming again, the female shouting his human's name and the panicking roars of a Monstrous Nightmare filled his ears.

Toothless flung himself at the walls around him, the steep cliffs besting him time and time again but Hiccup's screaming just went on and on and on and reverberated in his ears and travelled down his spine and to his tail. He would save his human, he would get out of this prison and he would save Hiccup. _I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!_

The rocks and sharp stone marred and scraped at his scales, some finding gaps between the black chain mail and cutting into his skin, Toothless could not feel the pain. All he felt was fear, nothing like the fear of when he first met his human, this wasn't fear that froze you to the spot.

This fear was more dangerous than that. This sort of fear makes you act, gives you strength but puts you into danger as well. It makes a person jump into the path of a stampeding bull to save a friend, this fear makes you run into a burning building to save a loved one, makes a friend face a hundred swords and the sticky flames of a Nightmare to rescue you. This fear risks a life to save another life.

This is fear that will kill you and imprison you, maim and scar you for a lifetime, leave you in tears at the sacrifice and have you cursing the unfairness of the world beyond your understanding, a world beyond all comprehension.

There is no understanding this fear, only one possible cause for it.

Incomprehensible, unthinkable, unconditional love.

What other thing could make a person face certain death, run head first into danger in this manner, other than love.

The screams continued, or perhaps they were just continuing to resound in his head as the Night Fury finally clawed his way out of his prison cell. _I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!_

His wings were useless without his human but he could still run and he followed his human's scent and trails through the trees which blurred past in a dizzying array of green and brown and ocean and sky blues, his claws scraping the ground leaving furrows and kicking up stones, dirt getting into the cuts from his frantic escape and making them sting. _I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!_

The shouting got louder and he could smell them, Vikings, many of them but Toothless didn't care, he was driven blind and crazy from fear. His Hiccup was trapped, the cage the humans made reminding him of his prison at the lake and they had covered it with metal vines. Designed to keep his fellow dragons captive he threw his fire at the vines then slammed his body through the hole he had made; in the smoke his claws fell upon the female Monstrous Nightmare.

He couldn't see Hiccup and Toothless believed he was too late, that Hiccup lay dead shrouded by his smoke and his claws and teeth sank deep into the scales of the large Monstrous Nightmare. _I'll kill you! I'll kill you!_.

Her attention turned from her panic to the dragon attacking her back and she forgot where she was. As the smoke cleared she shook the Night Fury from her, but behind where the usually shy black dragon stood roaring at her, she saw the reason for her capture. The human whelp stood behind the strong Night Fury but no matter what she said, no matter what she attempted, how the humans had tortured them and harassed them; the black dragon fought her off with promises of fire. _Stay back! I'll kill you! Stay back!_ A roar with his entire mouth of teeth shown to the world and the Nightmare believed him, she scuttled away, content with her life.

For a lulling moment, things were settled, Toothless and his human were back together. His fears momentarily forgotten. His Hiccup was safe. Everything was all right again and Hiccup's hands were resting on his face, Toothless purred.

The older Vikings descended like a flood into their hand-made dragon prison, charging and roaring with their strange voices and small blunt-toothed mouths.

They were after Hiccup, they were going to hurt him because he didn't kill the Nightmare, but Toothless wouldn't let them, he'd die before they reached Hiccup. _Stay back! Stay back!_ The first humans in reach were quickly thrown away by his wings and strong tail, they collided with the natural rock the Vikings had carved their prison into, the snapping of small bones, those of their ribs, were heard and some of the Vikings went to help the injured but their were always more humans charging him.

He pounced on their big leader, the large male who charged him up front, the fool. If he killed him the Viking's alpha male, they would see how strong he was, they wouldn't dare hurt his human. He could stop being afraid; for himself, his fellow dragons and his Hiccup.

But his human stopped him.

Hiccup's desperate cry caught in his ears and he stopped calling his flame, confusion in his eyes, but he listened to his human.

He trusted his human.

So he let the bigger humans swarm him, chain him and bring their weapons down upon his scales and his bleeding, stinging cuts. Hiccup's pleas to stop them falling onto deaf ears as the female kept him out of harms way.

Toothless trusted the female fully, ever since that moment.

He had lost everything. His wings. His tail. His fire. His freedom. His human.

But he didn't care. As long as his Hiccup was safe.

Well here's chapter 3, only a couple more chapters and then its finished.

Leave your reviews if you like it, and keep me going, they're the only way I know you guys want more.


	4. Falling

Moments of Weakness

The Fourth Time: Falling

Toothless cowered as he watched his fellow dragons flee from the island, the Vikings trying to catch and kill them as they fled but they just flew over the reach of their metal claws and those stiff tails they hold in the hands. His brothers and sisters could fly away, but the Viking's fates were already sealed into the pebbles of this ancient, sacred beach.

They would die.

The Green Death, the Cannibal, the Tyrant King, would make sure no human would survive. He came by his many titles honestly. He was forever hungry. Forever angry. And he would be forever cruel.

Toothless could hear Him, clawing his way from the centre of the volcano his kind called their nest. The humans were just standing, their victorious cries meaning nothing. _He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!_ Toothless wondered how these humans were even related to his clever Hiccup. These humans were idiots, senseless. How could they not feel Him, clawing ever closer to the surface. His clever Hiccup would have felt it, his human was special, these other humans couldn't feel like his Hiccup did.

Toothless could feel his claws sinking into the wooden beast that bound him, the metal and wood creaking, but not breaking as he desperately tried to free himself. _He's coming! He's coming! Desert! Desert!_

Humans noticed Him only as the Tyrant King finally broke his way from the very volcano they had punched a great mouth into, but they had only unleashed their own destruction from it. Their leader, the big male that smelled a bit like Hiccup, had lead them to their death.

The Tyrant King was angry and when he looked at the running humans all he saw was a meal, a good meal. The Vikings were running back to their boats, but the great flames from the Green Death beat them in their race, scorching their wooden, floating frames and their vast sails and in the middle was Toothless. The intense heat of the Tyrant King's flames surrounding him, heating his scales to near painful temperatures. But the damn wood beast held firm and stubborn against the flames.

Toothless struggled. Crashing against the metal restraints and heavy wooden collar, the leather belt holding his mouth shut would not let up its grip and he began to panic. The Green Death would destroy the boats, destroy the Viking's escape, he had already destroyed their great wooden arms and then he would just cruise the island.

A huge cat, playing with an army of mice, delighting in their squeaks and squeals before gobbling them whole. Toothless would be the first to meet the Viking's fate.

All he could think of was his Hiccup, safe and far away from the anger of the Tyrant King.

And then he was in front of him.

His Hiccup was right in front of him, like some miracle from the flames.

The golden-haired female hovered above them upon the back of some brave Nadder who didn't fear the fire. His human ordered them to fly, and the Nadder and the female flew. They were clever, they listened to his Hiccup. They would survive this ordeal.

His Hiccup released his mouth from the leather's grip and then began attacking the wooden and metal beast, Toothless could see now that the other young Vikings had followed his courageous human and they were distracting the Tyrant, but He was growing weary of the interruption from his feast and was grow irritated, especially from one human who was attacking his eyes. The Tyrant shook and staggered, and his heavy tail swept into the boat he was trapped on. Toothless sank and he begged his human to leave him, but Hiccup followed him down still tugging at the metal and his heavy collar.

But Hiccup was human and he quickly succumbed to the water and as Toothless cried to him, his human was taken from him by the big male. At least his clever human could breath again, but Toothless anguished over what the Green Death would do to his Hiccup once he had eaten the other young Vikings, those few brave dragons that were helping them and the army of idiot adults.

Toothless was getting weaker, the water taking its toll, he would never know what happened to his human as his eyes closed.

But a disturbance in the water made him open his eyes and before him was the big male Viking.

Their eyes locked.

An understanding passed between them.

And Toothless was free.

Water exploding from his back and the male's heavy weight in his claws as he broke the surface and Hiccup was with him, they were together, they were ready, they would fight for the others, for the idiot adults, for the brave young Vikings and for his oppressed brothers and sisters and the brave Nadder, and Nightmare, and Gronkle and Zippleback.

Toothless and Hiccup reached the air and never had Toothless felt so powerful, not even when he had helped his brethren raid the Vikings dens. This power was the weight on his back, how Hiccup's weight would shift and and how the dragon would follow him unquestioning. His human urged, didn't order, his fire and his flames to the Tyrant. Saving the female and the brave Nadder who fought against the mouth of the Green Death. Toothless caught the golden female as she fell, her thanks written in her strange facial snarl that Toothless had realised was a good human expression.

He remembered he had never got the chance to thank her for keeping his Hiccup save when the big Vikings had trapped and imprisoned him.

He returned her smile gladly.

They were alone now. He and Hiccup. There was no one else to help, the brave dragons were tired, the young Viking's knew only Hiccup and Toothless could do anything now. The Green Death was after them, wings that had not been used in centuries, perhaps for years even Toothless could not count, were back in the air again. The Tyrant was mad, He chased them like the night chases the setting sun, caring not for the obstacles in His way. He was like a storm that never ended, chasing Toothless' tail through the stacks of rocks and ancient archways, destroying the sacred beach. He cared not about the sacrilege, he just wanted revenge for being made a fool. That a tiny dragon, that dared allow one of the humans on to its back, was challenging Him, was challenging Him and surviving.

His Hiccup was smarter, more clever, had more power in a way. He led Toothless to the darkness and they were the ones in control now. The Tyrant King knew it too. He looked but couldn't see, he listened but could not hear there quiet wings over his own great flaps causing clouds to swirl.

His Hiccup gave the urge, and Toothless called forth his flames.

The Tyrant King was screaming.

And Toothless was delighted in it.

He and his Hiccup were the most powerful here, they were the rulers, they were the tyrants, and they were fighting for something worthwhile.

The Green Death cast his fire in desperation and anger, the pain driving him irate and the flames caught his new tail. His Hiccup saw and they dove to the ground, the angry Tyrant after them roaring and screaming behind them. His clever Hiccup was waiting for something.

And his clever Hiccup then called to him again, they turned, his fire was true and the Tyrant's mouth erupted with flames. The ground appeared below them and the Tyrant spread his wings, tattered from their earlier attack, they could not stop His great bulk.

Toothless opened his wings, and he and his Hiccup were safe, outrunning the flames as the Tyrant died.

Then it all went wrong.

The power Toothless had felt disappeared.

The flames had taken his tail...

... and the Tyrant's tail took his Hiccup.

Toothless screamed, his wings were useless, but his Hiccup had no wings at all. _I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!_

He followed his human. _I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!_

The flames swallowed them both.

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Well, one more chapter and then this is finished.

Remember leave your reviews if you like it.


	5. Learning to Fly Again

Well this is it, the last chapter, a bit shorter than the others but, hopefully sweet and a nice ending.

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Remember, leave a review to voice your opinion on this but please enjoy the read too.

Moments of Weakness

The Fifth, and the Countless Times to Come: Learning to Fly Again

He was dreaming. That was it. It was just a bad dream.

He was not seeing what he was seeing.

But he knew it was true.

His heart still sank from the sight that greeted his eyes, however, when Hiccup lifted his warm covers.

His leg just... stopped.

About three inches below the knee and with a little ache where the flesh just... didn't exist anymore. Where skin, bone, muscle, and sinews should have been, there was metal. He moved muscles he remembered having, but they weren't there anymore. The messages from his mind to his toes telling them to wriggle ran the course down his left thigh, over his knee... and then stopped. He could feel his toes wriggling, but there were no toes to wriggle. Just some metal foot that didn't move.

Wide and frightened eyes turned to amber eyes and Toothless just sat. _I am here._ Strong and stalwart, it was time for his Hiccup to get up. Hiccup was scared, the dragon could smell it and he could see it in his human's posture. He sniffed the strange metal limb which replaced the leg.

Hiccup was still scared as he sat on the edge of his nest.

_I am here. It's time to fly._

The young Viking stood, took in a breath of air and attempted to walk. Only to crash into the strong neck of Toothless, saving him from a collision with the wood under their fee... under his foot, and under the dragon's claws. His Hiccup smiled for him, his Hiccup was a good whelp, he didn't let this first flight scare him. _I am here. I can help._ Hiccup's small, warm arms encircled the great dragon's neck, gentle and kind words of thanks falling from his mouth into Toothless' ears.

All whelps, all chicks, suffered setbacks when learning to fly, even Toothless could remember his many failures, but his mother, his father, his older brothers and sisters, his other fellow dragons; there was always someone to catch him when he fell.

And there was always someone to give him another gentle shove towards the edge of the nest again when his confidence failed him.

Toothless himself had caught many whelps when they had fallen, had given that firm, but gentle shove towards the edges of all those different nests as well. Nadder, Nightmare, Gronkle, Zippleback, Whisperer, Knapper, and all the others too.

When he had fallen from the night sky on that fateful day. Hiccup had been there to shove him towards the edge of the nest as well. When Hiccup had to teach Toothless how to fly, all over again, and it was always Hiccup who had caught him when he fell.

Hiccup would need those gentle shoves now. He would need to catch his human when Hiccup fell. But that was all right.

Because Hiccup had given everything so Toothless could fly again. Made him a new tail, shown him the heart of a human, saved his brethren and killed a Tyrant, so that he could be back in the air again and to end a pointless conflict that had been fought for nothing.

This time, even if it was just to help his Hiccup reach the door to a bright new day, Toothless would give everything so that Hiccup could learn to fly again.

The Moments of Weakness between these two unlikely friends will always continue,

but for this story, we have reached

The End


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